Essay: The Stranger – Albert Camus (The Outsider)

Beyond the Populace
There are multiple conflicts between the individual and their corresponding society. As an example, Meursault, from The Stranger, is set apart from society for his actions.  He has a bland conscience, little to no emotion about his environment, and has odd reasonings for his judgement. Meursault is an unconventional character and lives with a melancholy cloud above his head.  Meursault’s psyche is different from that of society.  He has nihilist outlooks and lack of sentiment, especially towards death and marriage, all serving as a challenge to society’s accepted values. Unlike the others around him, Meursault does not take emotion into consideration when making decisions, rather he relies purely on logic. He is absurdly honest and indifferent upon all entities in his life. By not showing emotion at his mother’s funeral, his society perceives him as a lifeless, soulless man. In fact, he was rather stoic during the entire vigil. His mother’s friends were emotionally affected by the death; however, he was not. “I inclined to think that they were greeting me, after their fashion, but it had a queer effect, seeing all those old fellows grouped round the keeper, solemnly eying me and dandling their heads from side to side. For a moment I had an absurd impression that they had come to sit in judgment on me.” In addition, he thinks that the friends are criticizing his lack of emotional sentiment rather than actually acknowledging that they are just sad and thus in silence. His reactions, for the most part, make him the most different in society. Such as when his boss offers him a trip to Paris, he declines. Another example of his difference from society is his belief in God. Meursault’s personality strongly differs from his society since he his behavior is uncaring. This persona makes him alienated in society since he does not behave the way people expect him to–he opposes the “norm.” Those around him are in fact baffled by his indifference towards the different aspects of life.the magistrate considered it “unthinkable” that Meursault does not believe in God. He is the “path of least resistance” type of individual. Sisyphus stands out in his society due to his willingness to defy the Gods.  This is unheard of, as nobody in society is allowed to betray the higher power.  However, Sisyphus decides to go against higher powers because he believes that if he does not follow his impulses, he will never be himself.  During revolutionary periods of history, being an artist and having silent protests against higher forces was uncommon.  Due to this, the force that set people apart from their society was this soundless rebellion.  Not allowing resistance to oppress the thoughts and views of artists set them apart from their societies and made them subject to criticism and worse; however, this showed the true resilient forces of these brave individuals.
Within Camus’ works, external forces that contribute to character alienation present themselves.
The external conflict in the novel can especially be seen towards the end when Meursault speaks to the Chaplain. The Chaplain suggests to him that he should believe in God and accept the spiritual idea of living and existence. In other words, the Chaplain wants him to look towards God for comfort. Meursault, however, gets angry at the Chaplain’s notions and continues to deny the existence of god. Meursault’s external conflict with society is presented through his nihilist outlooks. In society, the belief in God is prominent; however, in Meursault’s eyes, nothing is meaningful in life and the only factuality in existence is death. Another external conflict is that Meursault comes to the realization that death is inevitable rather than being regretful of the murder (he does not realize his wrong-doings). “Nothing, nothing mattered, and I knew why. So did he. Throughout the whole absurd life I’d lived, a dark wind had been rising toward me from somewhere deep in my future, across years that were still to come, and as it passed, this wind leveled whatever was offered to me at the time, in years no more real than the ones I was living. What did other people’s deaths or a mother’s love matter to me; what did his God or the lives people choose or the fate they think they elect matter to me when we’re all elected by the same fate, me and billions of privileged people like him who also called themselves my brothers? Couldn’t he see, couldn’t he see that? Everybody was privileged. There were only privileged people. The others would all be condemned one day. And he would be condemned, too.” l
When Sisyphus is convicted of his crime, he is punished by the Gods to roll the rock up the mountain each day, to only have it roll down.  Sisyphus succumbed to the external influences in place by the Gods to continue rolling the rock.  These external forces created conflict amongst Sisyphus’s internal ones as he realized that what he was doing had little purpose and his life had no meaning left.  Artists and writers are often looked to for solace in hard times.  It is the artist’s who have the means to express conflicts and ideas without directly criticising higher powers.  For example, in the novel “Animal Farm,” George Orwell creates a fictional society that resembles the likes of Communist Russia.  Through his rhetoric, Orwell figuratively paints a portrait of the troubles that the society is enduring, which ultimately showcases the true corruption and troubles that existed during that time.  Writers like Orwell, who are put in extreme situations, are influenced by external forces, such as corrupt governments, to send their message across.  Camus states, “..the refusal to lie about what one knows and the resistance to oppression.”  External forces of society are so powerful, that writers and artists are tempted to acknowledge the troubles through their own work.
In addition to external, there are internal forces that contribute to the main character’s’ alienation.  The internal conflict that Meursault experiences is in his belief in the nature of existence. In addition, he lacks regret and remorse which are normally the key elements to an individual’s internal conflict. However, his true internal conflict comes about in his idea of the world he lives in and his place. “Life is meaningless.” Meursault’s decision making is also in part with his internal conflict. His affinity to be emotionless brings forth certain judgements. For example, he decides to write the letter for Raymond without any sense of remorse. Another internal conflict Meursault has is in regards to his love life. He is always unsure about his feelings and does not have a concrete answer upon whether or not he loves. He always answers with a concrete “no” or “I don’t know,” showing no emotion behind his corresponding answers. Another example of his lack of emotion. is in his reaction towards his mother’s death, he says that nothing has changed and he continues to go back to work. All in all, Meursault represses his emotions.  Sisyphus’s internal forces bring him to defy the Gods; he is not influenced by anyone but himself.  His desire to get the fountain in the city in exchange for the information (of Zeus kidnapping Egina) came from his soul rather than outside influence.  This showed that Sisyphus was willing to risk his own well-being for a selfish desire.  As Camus states, “the silence of an unknown prisoner, abandoned to humiliations at the other end of the world, is enough to draw the writer out of his exile.” By feeling the pressures of society’s conflicts, writers and artists are internally pressured to speak out against troubles that surround them.  Since it is their job to “transmit [a message] in order to make it resound by means of art,” they have a personal obligation to impact their communities.
There are a myriad of symbols and overall rhetorical techniques which depict the conflict between the individual and the society.  The prison room, usually representing confinement, represents Meursault’s awakening.  Here, he begins to think about his life and become more “human”, gaining the qualities he did not seem to possess towards the beginning of his novel.  For the first time, Meursault thinks about his mother and father, and regrets not spending more time with them.  Meursault is more attached to society when he is in prison as compared to when he is free. His confinement in the prison allows these thoughts emerge from his head; if he had simply continued his life in the real world, his family would seldom cross his mind. The sun is responsible for most of his diversifying moods. For example, the sun can make Meursault either sleepy, angry, happy, or aggravated. The Sun is also the spark that motivated him to murder the Arab.  Within this novel, the color green is associated with happiness, “the sky was green; I felt good.” On the other hand, red colors are associated with anger, such as the scene with the Arabs when they were on the beach.  The rock that Sisyphus is forced to carry up and down the mountain symbolizes the punishment of Sisyphus’s actions.  By putting a heavy, unnecessary weight on Sisyphus, he is burdened, just as the Gods were when he demanded the fountain. The symbol is a representation of revenge, as Sisyphus can no longer live his life for himself, but he now lives for the gods.  The most prevalent symbol throughout Camus’ Nobel Peace Prize is the notion of art.  Art can be presented in many forms, from literature, to painting, to music.  Art symbolizes freedom of expression, which was nearly impossible to have during Camus’ lifetime.  Art was an avenue of escape from the conflicts of the present day, and was used to express thoughts and ideas that were not allowed during that time.  This medium was also used to shine a light against worries of the future of humans.  For example, Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, presented a story where people had no self control and were predestined with a position in society.  This novel was an example of what could happen if science completely dominated every part of human life.  Stories like the ones of Animal Farm and Brave New World are examples of resistance to the present and the future.  Camus states that “[art] obliges the artist not to keep himself apart; it subjects him to the most humble and the most universal truth.”  Art allows the artist to have their ideas and opinions become integrated in their society and forces them to acknowledge the truth of the situation they are in.
The main characters of the stories cope with alienation and separation from their societies in a multitude of ways. In addition, the main characters, or the “individual,” are greatly affected by alienation. Meursault’s isolation is damaging towards himself since he is a slave of his own judgement. Since he does not feel any obligations towards society nor does he see any moral duties, he suffers many losses. Losses such as getting put into jail, having people dislike him, and overall being deprived of having the human-like emotions that make people, human–Meursault doesn’t necessarily feel his losses, rather he sees them only intellectually. The types of isolation Meursault suffers are societal and emotional. He is emotionally disconnected from everyone else since he feels so differently–sometimes he doesn’t even feel, but just think about the logic behind things. He is also isolated by society since his way of thinking is not favored or accepted. Meursault’s isolation is damaging since it deprives him of basic human emotion, love, and even gets him arrested (false judgement with killing the Arab since “the sun was in [his] eye.”  Sisyphus’s alienation in his society makes him lead a very mundane life.  By having only one task to complete his entire life, he his life becomes purposeless and he ends up being alone.  By being alienated by everything in his life, his life becomes meaningless and he has only one thing to live for: rolling the rock up the hill. Camus says that artists cannot be alienated because their art connects them with their fellow others. “If, on the other hand, I need it, it is because it cannot be separated from my fellow men, and it allows me to live, such as I am, on one level with them.” By having an artistic medium to express their views, artists have a way to express the truth in situations where truth is nowhere to be found.  He states that alienation is impossible because an artist cannot be different from the rest– he has to be someone who blends into society and has a means of exposing truth.
Throughout his works, Camus’ sets “avenues of escape” for the main characters. In The Stranger, in particular, Camus’ presents one of Meursault’s “avenues of escape” through the main character’s coping with the inevitability and closeness of his death. Towards the end of the novel, Meursault learns to accept his own fate and convinces himself to not be sorry since the whole situation simple does not matter. In the end, he accepts that life in general is absurd. “To feel it so like myself, indeed, so brotherly, made me realize that I’d been happy, and that I was happy still. For all to be accomplished, for me to feel less lonely, all that remained to hope was that on the day of my execution there should be a huge crowd of spectators and that they should greet me with howls of execration. “it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness. is foreshadowing to the death sentences he receives. This sparks Meursault’s journey to existentialism. The “door of unhappiness” that the quote is referring to is foreshadowing to the “room of the guillotine” where Meursault gets executed by the guillotine in justice for the crime he had committed. Towards the end of the novel, Meursault no longer sees his upcoming death sentence with hope nor anguish. He learns to accept his inevitable death and instead comes to agreement with it. Meursault ultimately learns that his morals and ethics are challenged by his society. Thus, he warmly accepts his position as the “public enemy” and anticipates the angry cheering of the mob, eagerness of his death, in order to confirm his outlook on his environment. Before the execution takes place, Meursault comes in relation to the cosmos. Just as the universe, he too practices “gentle indifference”–the universe does not judge nor control the pathway of human existence, rather it is purely spontaneous.